Tag: 2003

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Celldweller – Celldweller Part 2 (2013 bonus tracks)

Album Links:

 

Bandcamp (original album and bonus tracks only): https://celldweller.bandcamp.com/album/celldweller-10-year-anniversary-deluxe-edition

Soundcloud (original album and bonus tracks only): https://soundcloud.com/celldweller/sets/celldweller-10-year-2

Spotify (full album): https://open.spotify.com/album/1gStSHuxB1XHGBzPDQHU9w?si=-zbQHTIATBy5VEUPoeVCGw

Youtube (original album and bonus tracks only): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnUoeQ45vgmtIWyb40DiweCdge84Y282Y

 

Introduction: I spent plenty of time introducing Celldweller and the rest of Klayton’s aliases last week, though most of them aren’t relevant for this review. Well, Celldweller is relevant because it’s his album, and it could also be argued that the Klayton’s Alias makes an appearance as there’s a good handful of songs here saying they’re remixed by Klayton (which is just a fancy way of saying it’s a VIP or rework). Besides, these Klayton remixes don’t quite match the modern purpose of that particular moniker.

 

That being said, I do believe that this review will be slightly shorter than the last as there are indeed some remixes (meaning no lyrical analysis required) as well as some “demos” (which are a bit more bare-boned).

 

More in depth explanations of what’s going on in this album will come in due time.

 

Celldweller & Tom Salta – Ghosts (7): Welcome…

 

To a new beginning…

 

Let’s begin this bonus content extravaganza with Ghosts, Celldweller teams up with another artist to create a new combination of rock, electronic AND orchestral. That last bit is likely thanks to Tom Salta an artist that has released on Klayton’s FiXT label under the name Atlas Plug. Oh, and I think he might have made the soundtrack for a video game franchise called Hola or something. I don’t know, it has a lot of guns or something. I’m a music lover, not a gamer.

 

I do feel that there’s a bit of overlap between the Tom Salta & Celldweller styles, so it’s rather difficult to parse exactly what other elements he’s responsible for other than the assumption that Celldweller doesn’t usually dip into the orchestral stuff like this. The breakbeat bassline sections are a bit more his style. I had guessed for a second that he might have been responsible for the clean vocals on the song, but I think that was just my bias of seeing a feat. Rather than an & and expecting an extra vocalist (I always change feat. to & in my reviews so I guess that confusion doesn’t translate well here and just makes you even more confused). The vocals do sound a little bit different, but that could be my mind playing tricks on me. I don’t believe that Tom is really the singing type from what I know though, but I could be wrong. It’s kind of hard to uncover this information. Perhaps I should just go with the assumption that there is no information not uncover.

 

Well, I’ve talked about Tom long enough and I think I’ve summed up the music well enough with the little bits I’ve scattered through the Tom discussion so perhaps I can speak of some lyrics now. The lynchpin to discovering what this song is about is clearly the identity of these ghosts. I’ve taken some time looking to see if I can scrounge up some meaning other than the enjoyment of talking edgily about dead things, but it’s proven difficult to come up with a definitive answer that feels like it tightly fits those lyrics. I want to say the song has to do with facing ones past regrets that threaten to haunt us, but I really feel like I’m reaching for that one and when I feel like I’m reaching, then maybe there’s nothing there to begin with.

 

Until one of you reads this and it easily dawns on you what the meaning is and then you message me on Twitter or something to tell me how blind I have been to the message that these ghosts are presenting. Don’t get mad at me. Ghosts are invisible. How am I supposed to see?

 

Celldweller – Uncrowned (6.75): Drum. And. Bass. One of the fastest subgenres of EDM and this song clocks in at about 190 BPM which is an exceptionally speedy tempo, even for DnB. The basslines and guitar riffs do a pretty good job of keeping up with the energy. There could be a bit more variety as much of the song feels rather similar with the same basslines and guitar riffs over and over again, but I think the overall speed of the track (plus the occasional slower portion) makes up for that lack of variety.

 

As for the lyrics, well, they’re a bit iffy. Remember Under My Feet and how the last line of that song was incredibly spiteful wishing for another’s downfall. Yeah that spiteful ending encompasses the entirety of this song. Whether or not this makes the lyrics worse or better than Under my Feet is debatable, as more focus on the disliked lyrics is logically worse, but I feel part of what made Under My Feet’s ending so bad is its context. The entirety of the song before that point had been about Celldweller rising out of the pit he’s in and so the spiteful ending was incredibly unfitting to the mood. This song has no such context and so the entire message of the song is pride goeth before the fall and you and your legacy will inevitably fade away from eternity. And while I think I’d prefer something a bit more inspiring, I think I’m still able to enjoy the edgy side of these lyrics on their own.

 

Celldweller – Tragedy (6.25): So, sometime in the years approaching 2013, Klayton (the man behind Celldweller in case you forgot), was listening to some music back from the late 70s and as he listened to Bee Gees, he thought to himself “huh, this song is good, but you know what it needs? Some gritty guitar riffs with a darker tone.”

 

And you know what? It turned out to be a pretty good idea. It’s not top notch Celldweller. I’d say it’s actually rather par for the course when it comes to this album: mostly rock, with the occasional hint of electronic. There are some parts that stand out such as the rising and falling of the arpeggiated chord progression as the bridge transitions between the last two choruses. An ok melody there too. But for the most part, this song just sounds like Klayton just wanted to have a little fun creating a simple Celldweller spin on a song he enjoyed.

 

As for the lyrics, they do run the uncomfortable route that is a break-up song. I mean, it’s a better theme than the toxic relationship, perhaps even the correct course of action to follow a toxic relationship, but I still rarely find the theme to be really all that enjoyable to listen to and discuss. The best a break-up song can do is rise above the rest and actually be mature instead of the childish whining and complaining I see in many break-up songs. This one is roughly in the middle for me. Oh, Celldweller is definitely showing some bitterness towards the deteriorating relationship, but it’s all internal turmoil. There is no fault placed in the other’s hands. It’s all him and his bleak depression that’s creating this world of tragedy. It’s not ideal, but it’s realistic and certainly not an annoying line of reasoning. Would be nice if Celldweller could find a way to overcome this tragedy that is taking over his life, but sometimes tragedy is all we see…

 

And by Celldweller I mean the Bee Gees because they were the ones who originally wrote this song. It sounded a little bit different back then.

 

 

Celldweller & Styles of Beyond – Shapeshifter (6): Of all the bonus track I’m reviewing today, this one is the most popular. In fact, it might be the only one of these tracks to even hold a candle to Switchback and Frozen. But that’s the consensus of the general public (which I more often than not disagree with). But regardless of how much love I think Own Little World deserves more attention, where does Shapeshifter stand in relation to the two powerhouses I mentioned? Somewhere in between…

 

The first thing you might notice about Shapeshifter is how different the vocals are from the rest of Celldweller’s work. Well, the obvious explanation for this is found right in the credits of the song: Celldweller AND Styles of Beyond. Now, I’m not very well versed (not versed at all actually) on this artist’s discography beyond Shapeshifter, but I believe it’s a safe bet to say that he’s the rapper that gives this Celldweller track a unique twist. But is it a twist I like? I am quite picky with my rap after all as lyrical content is more important than ever with such a genre.

 

So hey, that will work as the perfect segue to trying to decipher these lyrics… It’s ‘bout cars. There’s nothing deep to this. 500 words over three and a half minutes, and it’s all about outracing the cops while racing other sweet rides (not sure what this has to do with shapeshifting, but I’m just going to roll with it). Not exactly what I’m looking for, but I don’t really dislike it either. Really, it just feels like the type of rap you’d slap on top of a beat with above average intensity. And seeing as the intense beats are quite common for Celldweller, it seems that this rap fits perfectly.

 

Speaking of the intensity of Celldweller, now may be a good time to appreciate the striking guitar riffs and the few subtle electronic elements in the verses. I really enjoy these subtleties the best as they provided that perfect extra touch to give the verses a tiny boost of variety. There’s also the overload of guitar in the chorus, but I’m not as much of a fan of those parts of the song. Same goes for the brudge to a lesser extent.

 

In the end, I’m feeling rather neutral about this one. Nothing about it is bad, but there’s not much here that’s really great either.

 

One last thing I forgot to mention when talking about the vocals would be Celldweller’s screaming in the chorus and the bridge. Not my favorite side of his vocal style but it does suit the song. But the real reason I want to mention it is because I want to introduce one common reoccurring issue I have with certain lyrics. Oh, it’s not any fault of the song. It’s all about my own mishearing the lyrics that is causing this odd and perhaps concerning issue. Until I reviewed the song today, I did not realize that the chorus was just repeating the name of the song. No, apparently my violent brain decided that Celldweller was screaming “DIE… JUST DIE!” From here on out, Shapeshifter Syndrome will refer to moments where I mishear lyrics and interpret them, to be much more disturbingly violent than they really are (though considering the tone of those vocals can you really blame me in this case?).

 

Celldweller – Goodbye (Klayton Remix) (7.25): Ok, so this is quite odd. Here we are about the quarter of the way into the bonus tracks. And we’ve come across this Klayton remix of a Celldweller song we haven’t heard before. First off, I find it weird that the remix appears first while the original version of the song isn’t played until the end of the album (excluding the demos which I shall also be reviewing. So, I’m reviewing the remix before the original, which I find rather uncomfortable to be honest

 

Also, Klayton is the same person as Celldweller so I’m not sure who exactly he’s trying to fool here as he does this several times on the album. The song is just a bit more electronic than it was before… later…

 

Ok, you know what, this whole nonlinear thing is really messing me up. Celldweller broke the rules by putting this song earlier I the track listing so I’m going to break the rules and head on over to the last song on the album before coming back here to review the remix. I’ll be right back.

 

Ok, I’m back. Let’s take a look at the remix of Goodbye after reviewing the original. I shan’t be long because I’ve already done the little analysis this song has to offer over there so I’ll just skip that, so you’ll have to wait for it (or read ahead since this whole thing is out of order now). But now that we’re here, we can talk about the more electronic version of Goodbye, my preferred version.

 

Sure it drones on a bit at the beginning, with only a bit of chopped up vocals and some drumbeats, but once the song gets past the first minute of that droning, Celldwelller’s scream allows the song to go up a notch with the fast-paced DnB that dominates much of this song. Complete with some bleeps and bloops here and there, a few great basslines and of course some chopped up vocals of the titular line of the song. There’s some full lyrics starting midway through the song, but they’re really a footnote in this experience of Celldweller’s strength of combining electronic basslines and guitar riffs.

 

This song has the same existential strengths as the original but ends up being one of the best bonus tracks of this album due to the incredible improvements on the instrumentation and tone. I’d talk about those existential strengths here but I’m going to talk about them later in this review (or had talked about them earlier today as I am writing this. Time travel is confusing.).

 

Celldweller – The Last Firstborn (Klayton remix) (7.75): Another occurrence of Klayton remixing a song that he’d originally produced? We’re going to see a good few of these today. Like with the remix of Goodbye, Klayton fully embraces the more electronic side of the song. From the very beginning he uses the same arp that dominated the more electronically focused parts of the song. Except without the strong drumbeat, the entire mood has been changed from its original energetic intensity to a developing sense of mystery accentuated by the use of distorted vocals.

 

About halfway through the song the guitar finally breaks through, bringing its song to its energetic glory. Everything here gets more powerful. The drums are no longer distant. The bassline has a harsher more prominent vibe. The arp has gone from subtle and mysterious to a much brighter sound filled with the energy that the original song had. Overall, this song has some great development in its mood as it transforms from its mysterious cryptic style to a briefly more energetic focus.

 

The lyrics are thankfully sparser and many of the more violent lyrics have been removed from this version of the song. We still have the description of a possible murder scene, but without the bleak and depressing context, the scene feels no bloodier than some of the edgier songs I’ve reviewed.

 

So yes, definitely a massive improvement. Though I think the original would still have been better if the lyrics were absent… Man, wouldn’t it be nice if that were possible.

 

Celldweller – Frozen (Copy Paste Repeat remix) (8): Oh wow. This is a mess, but it’s the good kind. Copy Paste Repeat completely tears apart the song and reorganizes it into a completely different chaotic mess of patterneless drumbeats, harsh basslines and vocals chopped beyond anything else on this album. There is a small portion in the middle that allows the original chorus of the song to play without any interruptions, but the chaos is always lurking in the background, ready to strike as soon as the chorus ends, taking the chaos to new levels unheard of. And while I shouldn’t expect anything clean from thsi sound, the ending of this song is so glitchy and rough that I still thought my headphones broke when I first listened to it.

 

Oh, and once again, like the last song, the vocals I like less (the overly sexual ones in this case) are eliminated from this version, leaving only the feeling of being frozen in time, and since I like time shenanigans, this one’s going to get a good solid rating from me.

 

There is no good way to review this song, but I’m perfectly content just sitting back and letting the perfect chaos that is this track fill my ears.

 

Celldweller – Switchback (Klayton remix) (7.25): And welcome back to Switchback. There may just be the one Klayton remix this time around (unless I’m forgetting something, which according to this addendum from my future self, I am) but trust me. We’re going to see a lot of Switchback in the future. Not any time soon likely, but I promise it will happen.

 

This Switchback remix starts out quite similar to that Copy Paste Repeat song from last time what with the glitching around and distortion of the vocals, but Celldweller hasn’t truly caught the Copy Paste Repeat Chaos, it’s just for the first three seconds of the song (though there are a fair amount of vocal chops), the rest is an entirely electronic version of the iconic Switchback. There’s still a good influence from the original with its bassline, but it’s been distorted into something new with much of the rest of the song focusing on adding a few new electronic elements, foregoing the rock entirely (ok maybe a guitar riff here and there, but that’s almost completely covered up in the background, I almost didn’t notice it until at least the third time around this song today).

 

However, while I do appreciate the consistent electronic enjoyment, I will admit that this song only just barely gets by with having enough variety. The drumbeat has a couple of switchups but for the most part it’s constant (which isn’t bad, but it’s teasing me with those syncopated portions). There are a few different basslines in there, but they don’t go through them and interchange them nearly fast enough. I now I’m probably being too picky, but a 7-minute song must do its best to capture the attention of the listener with such a variety to justify its length, and if it weren’t for the section where the first verse gets a spotlight, I’m not sure if I’d have found this song interesting enough to consider to be on par with the original.

 

I’m probably being too harsh, this song is still quite enjoyable (as all Switchback songs are), and I think it’s a fun spin on the original. I’m not quite certain which one I prefer as this song is more consistent but doesn’t quite measure up to the high points of the original. But both are fun tracks, and both deserve a good rating.

 

Celldweller – Atmospheric Light (Demo Redux (6.75): Hmmmm… a demo. These are often slightly lower quality than the normal tracks as they’re essentially discarded tracks that either weren’t good enough or didn’t quite fit with the albums they were produced for, and so they got relegated to this collection of bonus tracks.

 

As the title of this song establishes, the music of this song has a bit of an atmospheric feel to it, fading in at the beginning to reveal the main melody of the song and then later fading out with the same exact melody. This melody is present throughout the entirety of the song in between, only interrupted by the occasional guitar riff and drumbeat (and those drums are really just there to accentuate the guitar. This is definitely the most minimalistic song on the album, only giving music that’s absolutely necessary for the song to progress.

 

I feel that the lyrics are somewhat simple as well. The focus of this song is the same focus as many of the songs on the original album, breaking ties until one is completely alone and isolated and facing one’s regrets. Not a great feeling as I’ve explained several times in the first part of this review. This one adds in something a bit different alluding to Celldweller’s mother and his hope that she will accept him as he returns to his roots, something new for now, albeit I believe this theme becomes a bit more common in later albums.

 

Celldweller – Own Little World (Blue Stahli remix) (9.25): It’s no secret that I love Own Little World (and if you didn’t know that then you clearly didn’t read part one of this review which begs the question of why you’re here), I don’t believe I need to go into what I believe to be the most positive isolation on Celldweller’s debut album. I explained plenty of that this week. What I have to do this week is figure out how this Blue Stahli remix compares to the original.

 

Blue Stahli is an artist from the early days of Celldweller’s own label, FiXT. This band that also specializes on the electronic rock fusions, though I believe Blue Stahli falls more onto the electronic side, this time especially. It begins with a half time varied rock verse accompanying Celldweller’s chopped up vocals (more chopped than in the Switchback remix but not quite as chopped as the nearly unintelligible Copy Past Repeat remix). The bassline here is absolutely exceptional.

 

The song constantly changes from that point onwards though, getting better with each change. The first two choruses focuses on a more upbeat syncopated vibe accompanying my favorite lyrics on the album. And while the second verse is quite similar to the first, after this first formulaic half of the song, everything changes.

 

First off, we have to return to those vocal chops with some great electro bassline stabs. Which quickly transforms into a new more melodic portion as the song sounds like it’s about to come to a conclusion.

 

But Blue Stahli isn’t done yet. He aims to “Break it down” with a build-up from nothing, an element which has up to this point, been completely absent from the album. Taking a step back with an acoustic guitar and a soft drumbeat that I want to describe as crunchy, the song rises up, drops out and then immediately returns with van upbeat version of everything we’ve heard so far. It’s here that the song truly reaches for its conclusion, leaving me wanting more of this fantastic remix.

 

And so, I’ll listen to it again.

 

Celldweller – Shapeshifter (Klayton remix) (7.25): Klayton asked a question: What if Shapeshifter was even more aggressive and intense? And so, he decided to answer his own question and make Shapeshifter just that in his now commonplace Klayton remix (despite the redundancy of the idea). The rap and screaming chorus have retained the same energy as they’d had before, but all the music surrounding them have been kicked up several notches.  Much of this is thanks to his increased blending of electronic elements into this version. Much of the verses are filled with small subtleties, especially in the verses. Actually, throughout the song there’s an extra rapid bassline shoved in the background that gives an extra drive to the verses along with some good ol’ syncopation. This eventually develops into a more high-pitched synth that stands out a bit more, but it still has the exact same effect. Take what’s there and make faster. Make it more intense. Make this race from the cops along with other sweet rides the most intense race ever rapped about.

 

Really, that’s all there is to say.

 

Celldweller – Goodbye (6.25): Ok, so I’ve just come over here from the middle of reviewing the remix of this song because the whole order of things bothers me so I’m going to be doing this as nonlinearly as Celldweller. Except I’m going to make sense and review the original Goodbye first.

 

Goodbye, on the surface level, seems to have an intense focus on the rock side of Celldweller. However, upon listening to the song a few more times, I’ve begun to notice that there’s a bit more electronic elements than I’d originally accounted for. In fact, other than the guitar that starts about twenty-five seconds in (and then proceeds to make appearances throughout the rest of the song), there really isn’t much here that isn’t electronic except for maybe some of the drums, and even then, there’s some more upbeat drum patterns in there that seem more organized by a computer rather than played organically. I’m not sure why exactly I found the main bassline to sound less electronic than normal, but now that I listen to it more and more, the less it sounds like a guitar and the more it sounds like a more like it was generated on a computer (which to my tastes, is preferable anyway).

 

The song has some decent development, following the typical journey of calmness in the beginning to full throttle intensity at the end (I just reviewed Shapeshifter so the car metaphors seem to be sticking with me). This one bounces back and forth a bit more, becoming immediately more intense in the vocal portions, though even with its wavering up and down in intensity, I feel that overall, the song does still climb steadily towards the maximum potential this song has to offer.

 

As for the lyrics, Goodbye is about the never-ending passage of time and how every single moment in our life is consistently bidding us farewell as the next moment comes into our life. Other than that, there really isn’t much to say about these lyrics. There are some implications that the current moment of clarity may be the key to trying to figure out one’s purpose, which is interesting, but I’m probably self-projecting so maybe I should just leave it at that.

 

Alright, I’m heading back to the remix now.

 

Celldweller – Waiting (Unreleased Demo 2005) (6.25): And so, after saying Goodbye, you’d think we’re done with this part of the review. You’d be wrong. We still have 5 demos and a remix to finish up. Here’s another demo that I quite enjoy as far as the music goes. you likely know me well enough to determine that “as far as the music goes” means I find the lyrics questionable, but we’ll wait on those lyrics for a bit. First let’s enjoy what the music has for us.

 

The lyrics may be questionable, but the music is definitely one of the faster paced demos we’re going to go over. Really, that faster pace is half of the reason I’m enjoying this song (notice the slight bit of syncopation as well, you know I love that combination). Now, along with this quicker pace, there isn’t so much to go over as much of it is the same combinations of a bassline and a bunch of guitar riffs. At least for most of the song. Celldweller, has a tendency to relegate a good chunk of the fantastic variety to the bridge, this one including some nice strings (also in the outro), an acoustic guitar (also in the intro), and a dash of the most intense of the heavier distorted guitar (also present for pretty much the entirety of the rest of the song).

 

Alright now to the vocals and the lyrics they bring to the table. First off, before we get into any of the words sung in this song, I really want to mention the odd feeling that I don’t quite recognize the vocalist. I know there’s at least a 98.6% chance it’s Klayton (otherwise someone else would be credited), but it just sounds… different. I’m probably just slowly losing it as I have been for the past two decades or so.

 

The lyrics are a much simpler issue. Much of the song is just Celldweller reminding us that he’s still waiting. For what? Well, the rest of the lyrics suggest that it’s for another person who is taking the path of least resistance (for themselves) and letting Celldweller down in the process. Though he is simultaneously begging for more time to answer a question. So that’s just a confusing mess of who’s waiting on who. Maybe it’s a conversational song, but that isn’t made very clear.

 

Still, despite the lyrical confusion, I do find myself enjoying the song. Just not as much as I could if it had better (or no) lyrics. I’d like for there to be an instrumental version of this, but I’m afraid I can’t do the joke that I’ve done with The Last Firstborn and Frozen. There is no instrumental version of this.

 

Celldweller – 06-06-06 (Unreleased Demo 2006) (5): Ah yes, the day everyone panicked because the devil and tons of people from every artform aimed to release creepy demonic edgy stuff on that day because of the mark of the beast. Or you could put Elvis lyrics in there?

 

Ok, to the song’s credit there are still some non-Elvis stuff in there. There’s also a few violent lyrics about how Celldweller is going to beat you to a fleshy pulp. So, I’m not sure how that all fits with the theme of Satan. At least I can put lyrical analysis off the table for this one. How’s the music?

 

It’s alright, but I never really felt there was much notable for most of the song, especially in the choruses. At least there was a little bit of variety in the verses with the bassline, but the rest of the song doesn’t really matter all that much to me.

 

I’m thinking this song is truly average.

 

Celldweller – Waiting for so Long (Unreleased Demo 2006) (5.75): Interestingly despite the fact that he’s waiting for so long, this song is a third of the length of Waiting. In fact, if it weren’t for the Cell songs, this would be the shortest song on the album. And a simple one at that. One drumbeat. One bassline. One melody. One line of lyrics (ok two actually but still). This song is so simplistic I have absolutely nothing to say. Thankfully it’s short so the repetition isn’t too bothersome.

 

The song is a bit above average, but it doesn’t bring much to the table.

 

 

Celldweller – Blood from the Stone (Unreleased Demo 2005) (4.25): This song is about a doomed relationship. Yay. Celldweller reveals to his soon to be ex that they aren’t compatible and they never will be because Celldweller is doomed to an empty life with no relationship to speak of. Well, geez stop whining about such a bleak outlook. Not to mention you went into this relationship with pessimistic expectations (Which could be the self-fulfilling prophecy that causes your problems). You’ve clearly got some personal issues you need to work out before you embark on a relationship, because it will never work if you go about it that way.

 

Ok, enough on that. The music outside of the lyrics is actually good. Starting out with a beautiful combination of piano and acoustic guitar is a lovely beginning. It eventually builds up into a heavily rock focused chorus with some decent melodies. Nothing stellar but decent. It does have a good progression to it and the dynamic between the piano and the harsher guitars (especially noticeable in the second verse) is definitely my favorite part of the song. Overall the music in this one is pretty good.

 

But then again, there’s the lyrics which make him such a whiny brat that I have to give this song a lower rating than the nonexistant instrumental of it deserves.

 

Celldweller – IRIA (Unreleased Demo 2005) (7.75): Out of all the demos, this song sounds the most like the Celldweller I know. Some heavy rock to match some nice electronic influences. This actually feels like a Celldweller song, though it is admittedly quite close to instrumental. It has an occasional shout that makes me think he hasn’t quite figured out where this song is going (I could swear he’s saying “Words”) And then there’s the line “I remember it all” (or IRIA if you’d like to use an acronym), which serves no meaning without any context. But that’s fine. That just means the instrumentation has to hold up the track.

 

And boy does everything this song is make up for the lack of lyrics. This song truly fuses the electronic wonder at the beginning of the song with some great guitar riffs and solos, not to mention that lovely bassline that serves as the main electronic focus. The way it distorts as it moves between notes in the track is quite enjoyable. My favorite part of the song has to be the vocal portion. While not meaningful those vocals definitely add some extra energy when they’re present, or maybe it’s just because the guitar solos are giving their best work to back those vocals up. Either way, this demo definitely stands above the rest.

 

Celldweller – Switchback (No I’m Not remix) (8): Another Switchback remix? In my review? It’s more likely than I think. But this isn’t your ordinary Switchback remix. No, this remix is gloriously orchestral, accompanied by a choir of strings that progressively gets more intense as Celldweller sings on about how he can’t change the past moments he regrets. There are a few additional lyrics added into this version. Actually, if I remember correctly, those lyrics were originally subtracted from a previous version of Switchback that was made before Klayton polished the track and released his Celldweller debut. Well, they don’t really change the theme of the song or give any new revelations, so I guess it’s just a slight divergence from the norm (as if going orchestral didn’t diverge enough).

 

There really isn’t much particular to say about the music, as orchestral tracks are often good but really need to do something exceptional to stand out and make themselves worth talking about. I will admit that there’s a bit more of an emotional impact for these lyrics with the orchestral context, but that’s still not out of the ordinary. This song is simply a beautiful conclusion to today’s review.

 

Conclusion: The bonus tracks of this debut album are a mixed bunch, ranging from a few decent originals, a healthy number of great remixes. And some average demos. Is it a worthwhile addition? I’m going to have to go with a yes. There are very few bad songs here and there, but there also plenty of worthwhile additions, including a better version of my favorite song from the first third.

 

One more Celldweller review left before I give Klayton an extensive break.

 

We’ll see what words I have to say when Celldweller has none.

 

Final Score for Bonus Tracks: (6.75/10)

Final Score for Album so Far: (6.75/10)

 

122.75/18

 

118.5

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Celldweller – Celldweller (2003 album) Part 1 (original album)

Album links

Bandcamp (original album and bonus tracks only): https://celldweller.bandcamp.com/album/celldweller-10-year-anniversary-deluxe-edition

Soundcloud (original album and bonus tracks only): https://soundcloud.com/celldweller/sets/celldweller-10-year-2

Spotify (full album): https://open.spotify.com/album/1gStSHuxB1XHGBzPDQHU9w?si=-zbQHTIATBy5VEUPoeVCGw

Youtube (original album and bonus tracks only): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnUoeQ45vgmtIWyb40DiweCdge84Y282Y

 

Introduction: I was contemplating perhaps reviewing this 65-song album in one week just to make up for my inconsistent posting over the past month or two. However, like with Converting Vegetarians, that goal is just not feasible to do in one week. So I’ll be dividing this Deluxe album into three parts, one for the original release, another for the bonus tracks, and one final review for all the instrumentals. So, I hope you like Celldweller, because he’s taking over this site for the next three weeks.

 

And I haven’t even introduced him yet. Celldweller is one of the many aliases of Klayton, this one focused on a fusion of rock and electronic music. Other aliases include Circle of Dust (the band he started in, though the moniker was recently revived despite him releasing form it as a solo act), Scandroid (an entirely synthwave alias), Feqgen (I am the least familiar with this one, but it’s focused entirely on the electronics from my understanding), and Klayton (self-named alias that focuses on music resembling cinematic trailers).

 

But today, I’m focused solely on the Celldweller alias, which is my favorite of the five. I’ll probably branch out into the others eventually, but that won’t happen until quite far in the future. For now, let’s take a look at the solo debut of the Celldweller project.

 

That being said, this review is going to be a bit difficult. Like Ashbury Heights’ Three Cheers for the Newlydeads back in January, this debut album is a bit beyond edgy brushing very close on the line to topics such as suicide and self-harm. Again, these themes aren’t handled quite the best (though it is a bit better this time as there’s not as much glorification of the harmful behavior and thought patterns), so I want to make sure that I take care to handle them well while discussing these songs.

 

Celldweller – Cell #1 (6.25): Alright so we’re starting out with a short little introductory maybe storytelling track. Well, I know Klayton’s discography does have some vague story going throughout his discography but it’s nowhere near as immersive as my musical storytelling obsession: Mind.in.a.box. I’ll comment on it here and there, but most of the songs can be taken without any story.

 

And besides if there’s any story here, there’s no information given in the thirty seconds of its duration. There’s some ambience of a heavy duty door being locked tight and heavy breathing that keeps in tempo as the music transitions into the next song (Switchback). Who is this person breathing in beat? This person who seems resigned to dwell in a jail cell?

 

Oh… I get it…

 

 

Celldweller – Switchback (7.25): So if Cell #1’s main purpose is to transition from silence to Switchback, then how does Switchback stand up? Does it deserve the extra thirty second introduction to the song? Well, it is arguably Celldweller’s most popular songs though perhaps some of that has to do with it being the first thing people hear from him on the debut album. I can see why it stuck in people’s heads more easily than some of my preferred songs from Celldweller (not to mention it’s his most remixed song and has appeared in popular media countless times).

 

The vocals in Switchback are definitely its strength. I don’t often listen to much rock and so I rarely find songs with a rock-oriented vibe to be exceptionally catchy, but Switchback seems to be an exception. Perhaps because there’s a variety of vocal sections within them songs, most of them simple enough to worm their way into my head. And because they can associate together as one song, the individual melodic memories are strengthened by a bond of continuity within the song. They won’t leave my brain and I don’t quite mind. Though I will admit this has resulted in a joke between my brother and I involving singing the lyrics to this song at random points in completely different songs (usually Celldweller instrumentals). This has made the song a bit more difficult to take seriously, though I’ll try to do my best.

 

So, what do these ridiculously catchy vocals convey? Well despite how enjoyably fun this tune is overall, the lyrics are actually quite brooding, filled with regret. Well, they don’t really go in depth with the inner turmoil, but really, the entirety of the song can be summed up by the first line that doesn’t call out the title: “I made a choice that I regret.” Oh, and also the fact that this choice can’t be changed or altered. After all, there’s no way to Switchback.

 

Other than the vocals, most of Switchback’s music is less remarkable. Oh, it definitely has a good rock vibe, but outside of the bridge, none of it is exceptionally interesting. That sentence seems to imply that the bridge is exceptional. And it is, for it is in the bridge that the musical variety begins to match up with the vocal variety (only took half of the entire song to get to the eerie ambient section in which Klayton’s vocals are rerecorded to make him sound more like a broken man.  And to make up for lost energy, this calmer chorus is immediately followed by a solid electronic drumbeat and a bit of screaming. And after that, to make up for lost rock, there’s the most intense guitar riffs on the song along with the most fast-paced vocals on the song before we finish with another iteration of the chorus (as well as a syncopated DnB paced finale but eh I’ve said enough here).

 

Celldweller – Stay with Me (Unlikely) (7.5): Stay with Me is a little less familiar than Switchback. So, it doesn’t have super catchy lyrics to help. Also, this one focuses almost completely on the rock elements, which I usually enjoy most when fused with his electronic influences as it more of my main genre (everything electronic). There are a few synths here and there that

 

Also, the lyrics are a bit unfortunate to follow one of the pitfalls that hampered my opinion on Three Cheers for the Newlydeads (an odd album I find myself comparing this one to but that’s what happens when two of my favorite artists have edgy debuts). Thankfully, Celldweller doesn’t glorify the darkest depths of Ashbury Heights (for the most part, there’s a certain song I want t but instead opts to focus on a slightly toxic relationship. The paradoxical contrast between Celldweller begging the listener to stay with him in the chorus and only ten seconds later he declared he’s rather the listener go away in the edgy screaming bridge. It’s possible that this is more representative of the confliction that Celldweller has as his mind seems to be torn apart by his own mental enemies distorting his mind into a nihilistic depression… Maybe that deserves some focus as well before I go and decide that). this song is toxic

 

In addition to the external conflict of whether or not Celldweller needs company through his inner turmoil, this song also takes a look at the inner turmoil itself in the blinkandyou’llmissit verses. The first half of these verses seem to resemble some form of tripped out rap as Celldweller is in distress over the intrusive thoughts that push him down into the darkest depths. The thoughts aren’t permanent, but when they’re there, they trap him in a socially destructive state. He pushes those close to him away and is left alone with the existential thoughts that tear down his soul as he observes the never-ending passage of time (which, I’ll remind you, cannot be switched back).

 

…Ah shoot, I’m beginning to think I was jumping the gun there with that first bit of lyrical analysis. The paradox makes all the more sense as this vulnerable state of existentialism is simultaneously lonely (A desire to keep others close in order to feel human again) and volatile (a desire to keep others at a distance so they don’t infect others with their negativity). It’s still a toxic line of thinking and that it would be best to go immediately for the first choice if you can, because the second choice will only make you feel more empty…

 

That got deeper than I expected. Well played Klayton.

 

Celldweller – The Last Firstborn (6): The Last Firstborn is another one of the more popular Celldweller songs. Not as big as Switchback or Frozen (review that in a bit, but definitely on the upper half of popularity when it comes to songs on this album. I’m quite mixed on it. On one hand, the music in here is fantastic, making it one of the best instrumentals the Deluxe album has to offer. On the other hand, well, there’s a reason I hold the instrumental so much more highly above the original, but I’ll get to talking about what the instrumental doesn’t have in a second.

 

For now, let me just take a second to appreciate the outstanding music in this one. I feel like this song does one of the best jobs on the original album of integrating both the rock and the electronic elements on the album. Hard to decide if it’s this or a certain other song (which happens to be this album’s highlight) that does better at using both sides of Celldweller, but this is great regardless. The song constantly bounces back and forth between rock with underlying electronic and electronic with underlying rock. Neither genre fully takes hold at any point in the song, but they also each get their own moments to shine, be it the intense guitar riffs fused with a rumbling distorted bassline to the upbeat techno progression that dominates during the chorus (though the same guitar riffs are still present if you listen for them).

 

This song is fantastic when it comes to its music.

 

The lyrics on the other hand, are pushing for maximum edginess for Celldweller. This song is what pushed me over the edge to decide that this deserved the same warning as Three Cheers for the Newlydeads (though there’s a later song that takes this to true maximum edgieness). The entire song, the lyrics are playing on the edge between life and death and there are several points in the song that really go over the edge. There’s explicit mentions of playing with razor blades and knocking on death’s door as well as implicit statements saying “This isn’t worth it” and “I wish it didn’t end this way.” These ideas paired with the violent imagery with the fast-paced vocals of the chorus makes for what I believe to be one of Celldweller’s darkest songs. It still gets an above average rating as the darkness isn’t enough to truly overcome the exceptional instrumental. I can’t help think of how much better the song would have been if it the lyrics were eliminated. Gee, I sure wish that were possible… Well, I’ll talk about that again in two weeks

 

Celldweller – Under My Feet (5.5): Alright, time to explore a side of Celldweller we haven’t seen quite yet. Well, we have seen his rock side overall, but this song is a bit softer than the other songs on this album so far. The more heavily distorted guitar takes a backseat to something more acoustic for the first half of this song. And it’s a refreshing gasp of fresh air that allows the song to build back into the more intense rock as the song progresses. Yeah that build in intensity does prevent the song from fully abandoning the intensity of Celldweller, but it still remains rather calm in comparison to the majority of his discography. The tone of the guitar is the spotlighted development in this track but there are several other pieces of the puzzle that help the guitar on its journey. The drums for example start out quite soft and experimental at the beginning of the song before being overtaken by a more prominent and steadier drumbeat. The background vocals also get more intense over time, starting as a distant whisper in the beginning to some louder melodic chanting alongside the main vocals. Really, this entire song, outside for the final few lines where the song drops out to its starting state, i just one big build-up. And it works.

 

Too bad some of the lyrics hold it back. As far as the lyrics go, Under My Feet is a song of brooding. The song starts out contemplating suffering and loneliness similar to the feelings expressed two songs ago in Stay with Me (Unlikely). This song goes even further into the inner turmoil, focusing on the despair that he feels at the bottom of that pit the mental enemies have pushed him into. Even when he tries to get himself out, he finds that saying he must get out isn’t going to guarantee him an escape (which is true, you have to work for it). He envies those who have found more reason to live than he. He desires to be more like them…

 

And then the whole message falls apart at the end. Trying to mirror the first stanza of the song, Celldweller seems to spitefully wish for the downfall of those he envies. He never finds his way out of the pit. He just wishes everyone he knows to come down with him, and while I agree that in one way or another, everybody gets depressed, that doesn’t mean those that are already down emotionally should strive to bring those around them to the same level. Wouldn’t the more sensible thing to do be to strive to enjoy your own life? I guess it’s just easier to spread negativity than to take the tumultuous road that will eventually lead to living peace.

 

Again, this song suffers from good music and bad lyrics. Though it’s not as strong on either end (Last Firstborn had better music and worse lyrics). The end result is the same.

 

Celldweller – I Believe You (6): Alright. Back to the electronic rock fusion. It’s still mostly rock but, there are a few parts of the song that are definitely more electronic. There’s a great break from the rock at the minute mark that has a singular groovy bassline and some strings accompanying those sick syncopated drums. There’s also a bit of electronic texture added to the bridge at the 2-minute mark. Other than that, the song only takes a break from the rock portions for a quick moment before the chorus (harkening back to the chiller emotion at the beginning of the last song). Without the electronic elements, the song is pretty ok. It doesn’t have too much to offer for most of the song. The short melody played right before the chorus is understandably involved in the chorus but other than that the song is just alright.

 

The lyrics are a bit more cryptic than usual. The main theme is certainly blind faith, but whether or not the faith is a good thing is somewhat uncertain. He keeps saying it’s alright, but he might be somewhat of an unreliable narrator, manipulated by the one he trusts…

 

That sounds like something Celldweller would do. He can be a bit toxic sometimes, especially in his early days.

 

Celldweller – Frozen (5.75): Frozen is another powersong in Celldweller’s debut. Not quite as popular as Switchback, but still quite iconic to his discography. Not only is it not as well-liked with the general public, it’s not quite as well-liked by myselg. While Switchback had some great dynamic portions near the end, Frozen is pretty much the same throughout. Now the sameness of Frozen is better than the lowest in Switchback I’ll admit it. The slower syncopated tempo works quite well and there’s some decent simple electronic melodies that are present throughout. There is a bit of variation at the bridge again like there was in Switchback, but it isn’t unique enough to capture my attention like the woman in this song captures Celldweller’s attention.

 

The lyrics are… weird. The more I listen to it the more sexual it gets. The whole tone of this song with the little side female vocals (let’s go) to more obvious declarations of open legs. I think I was just distracted the first time in this song by the “frozen point in time” line (I love weird time shenanigans), that I didn’t realize the true seductive nature of this song… I kind of prefer time shenanigans. Sex is a much less interesting topic in my opinion. Plus, there’s a weird darker vibe to the song, that makes the whole scene fee lifeless, cold, frozen. And I’m pretty sure that’s not quite the mood you want to set for possibly reproductive activities.

 

Celldweller – Symbiont (5.75): It’s funny how some of the best musical songs have the most uncomfortable lyrics. This isn’t quite to the level of The Last Firstborn (which was the perfect fusion of the pillars of Celldweller’s style) but there’s still several great parts of the song. This song, while almost entirely rock-focused consistently bounces back and forth between the quicker syncopated tempos in the introductions and the slower half-time section in the verses and chorus of “dancing on a thin line.” Not to mention the guitar in the first prechorus, which while not complex perfectly matches the energy that Celldweller commits to for a good portion of the song.

 

Unfortunately, these lyrics are rather disappointing. We’re back to the toxic relationship themes. Never really understood why this is such a popular theme. If you hate the person, you’re romantically involved with then such a relationship should be ended, not glorified. If Celldweller wants to go, then he doesn’t have to stay. Really, the entire idea of staying in a toxic relationship is a bad trend in lyrics that needs to phase out, but it seems to be a theme we’re stuck with.

 

Unless of course we take the route I took with Stay with Me and transform this toxic relationship into a much more interesting struggle. A struggle of self. Oh, it’s still a toxic dynamic, but at least the resistance of leaving is a bit more understandable. It’s increasingly difficult to separate the core of one’s self from the toxic pieces of our identity that we’d rather be rid of. How can you stop feeding the symbiont of your soul when it’s constantly sucking the life out of the more beneficial (or at least benign) parts of your soul.

 

Of course, I’m probably reading too deep into the internal struggle side of things and partaking in a confirmation bias to appreciate the song more than I would otherwise.

 

Celldweller – Afraid this Time (8): Back to the chiller side of Celldweller. This song begins with a rather trippy intro but soon develops into some of highest quality chill this album has to offer. My guess is that the combination of the acoustic guitar and the piano has something to do with my enjoyment. Plus, a bit of electronic bass to give it a slight bit more energy without overbearing the calmer mood that the rest of the song demonstrates (at least for the first half). There’s also a rather enjoyable glitchy effect on the vocals that gives the song the perfect amount of unsettling for a song about fear.

 

The song does get a bit more intense in the second half as the tempo increases a bit and the wobbly bass does eventually take the spotlight, but it doesn’t necessarily feel intrusive. And the bridge definitely gives a great spotlight on the harder side of the guitar to contrast with the acoustic melodies from earlier. While I think I do enjoy the first half of the song a bit better, the second half does work just as well.

 

As for the lyrics, it’s a bit more cryptic than the usual adapting a vague message if any. But that might work for the song. It seems that there are some references to a dichotomy between struggling to overcome one’s fears and realizing that no matter what you do, the fears will continue to linger. The singer repeatedly mentions that he’s afraid, but he also makes sure to make it clear that his undefined opponent (be it person, problem or idea) can no longer touch him. Honestly this is a great balanced message admitting that fear isn’t easily eliminated but it doesn’t have to rule one’s life.

 

Celldweller – Fadeaway (8.5): Now this song has an interesting variety to it. My favorite songs on this album either switch back and forth between either electronic and rock vibes or between the calmer acoustic sound and the harsher distorted guitar sections. This song, for the most part relies on the latter though there a few very welcome electronic instruments added in there (as that’s my preferred genre). I think I’ll go more in depth on the variety when I review the instrumentals of this album (there’s a DnB portion so you know I like it), but for now, I feel it is necessary to mention the relationship between the vocals and the music in the first section of this song.

 

The most evident relationship between these two is the way the song switches back in forth in intensity depending on which mood the verses at the beginning are displaying at any given moment. If we’re looking at the cleaner vocals, the song takes a step back and focuses just on the underlying bassline. But when the song switches back and forth to the more intense distorted vocals, the music follows suit adding some great guitar solos into the mix. This is once again reflected in the song’s coda as the first three lines focus on some gritty vocals with a rock backing to back it, but that last cleaner line begins just as everything else ends. Making a satisfying conclusion to the song.

 

Also, worth mentioning are the two stylistic bridges that give a quick break form the rest of the song. The first concentrating on the quickest electronic syncopated tempo of the song (you know I like DnB) and the second focusing on an acoustic section that resembles many of the other calmer songs this album has to offer. You could actually consider said bridge to be a build-up from nothing thought it doesn’t seem to reach the same intense heights as the rest of the album contains. It’s worth noting that again the intense bridge contains lyrics of a more intense gritty variety , while the second bridge focuses a lot more of the calmer cleaner vocals

 

But enough of talking about vocals and their relationships with the rest of the song, what message are these lyrics explaining. Well, fadeaway sounds rather defeatist which is a slight bit of a shame as any moment in the song that doesn’t focus on the nihilism connected to ones flaws, there’s a very humble bit of inspiration there. First, there’s the admittance of the flaws are there and they present the duality of isolating ones self to hide ones flaws (only friend) and getting caught in ones flaws until they overwhelm one’s life (worst enemy). While the balance of this song does tip towards the negativity, there does seem to be a humble bit of positivity in there that allows for a nontoxic self-reflection.

 

But you know what sometimes, that’s just the way the mind acts. Sure, it isn’t healthy to assume that life is over and done as soon as you realize your flaws. But definitely is a relatable feeling. Just don’t stay there forever.

 

Celldweller – Cell #2 (6.25): Another short Cell song. This one being an intermission rather than an introduction. There’s much less visual ambience in this one as it just focuses on being overly creepy while giving a bit of narration on feeling lost and trapped within this cell that serves as the main theme of this album. One’s sense of self and memories of the past can become distorted when one traps themselves in negativity. Had joy ever existed? Will it ever exist again? The hope is that the answer to that last question is yes

 

 

Celldweller – So Sorry to Say (8): What makes So Sorry to Say unique within the Celldweller discography (or at least within this album) is definitely its incorporation of strings. From the very beginning of the song the strings hog the spotlight whenever they’re present. There’s some points where it holds equal ground with a piano, but other than that, any instrument that attempts to stand out while the strings are in place will merely be pushed back into the background by the superior instrument.

 

However, the strings don’t stay relevant for the entire song. For example, there’s a few points in the song (1 minute mark, 2.5 minute mark and 4 minute mark respectively), that have an incredible focus on the more electronic side of Celldweller. Seeing that electronic is my preference and that these sections also include some syncopation, it’s clear that I find these parts of the song to be rather enjoyable. During these sections the song switches back and forth between using a wobbly bassline and giving some silence (for lyrics in the former two sections). However, it’s just that wobbly electronic bassline that goes silent. There’s also a bass guitar that picks up the slack, present throughout each section in its entirety.

 

There are also a few rock portions intermittent throughout the song in between those favorite upbeat syncopation sections. Most strikingly is the intensity that this song decides to use as we build up for that final syncopated section. I don’t have especially much to say about this short little rock section. Just wanted to highlight its greatness that the rock has for a grand finale (before the song takes a step back into the minimalism with just the drums, strings and pianos backing up the vocals (no basslines of any sort, guitar or otherwise).

 

So that’s plenty of focus on the music, what do I feel about these lyrics. This song seems to follow some of the main themes of this album, depression and isolation, especially that last one. Throughout the song, Celldweller questions why he pushes away those he cares about, especially during his most desperate times. It’s a paradox that’s highlighted quite well Ii this song’s chorus as Celldweller constantly switches back and forth between begging the person in question to leave him before his depression infects their mood, while also begging them to stay as he needs them for support. A paradox that plagues many depressed moments.

 

Yeah, both this and Stay with Me (Unlikely had the same theme, but there’s no reason that there can’t be two songs about this conflict of emotions. And I think I like this one better anyways thanks to musical enjoyment.

 

Celldweller – Own Little World (9): There’s always one song on an album that just sticks out above the rest, and when it comes to Celldweller’s self-titled debut album, this is clearly that song. It has great quick -paced DnB vibes as far as the tempo goes, as well as a decent fusion of electronic and rock (though rock clearly takes the forefront this time). And while that’s not my main genre, it’s still well executed, and the electronic influences give it enough flavor to stand out among many of the other mostly rock tracks on the album.

 

Plus, there’s some things in this song that are quite unique. The vocal manipulation provide for a great variety compared to the simple dichotomy between clean and gritty most songs have. Now there’s simple distortion as well as robotic distortion. And there’s also two levels of gritty vocals, so that makes for at least five different vocal accents within the song. I say at least, because there’ possibly one or two more I missed, I think there’s some whispers in the second half of the chorus, but I’m not certain.

 

Ah well, it doesn’t matter exactly how the vocals are presented (though again, the variety is appreciated). What truly matters to me is the message the vocals present. And this one follows the theme of isolation in a much more confident manner, with no hint of negativity within its chorus and only minimal struggles within the verses, though those mostly serve as a drive to creating one’s own little world, a state of mind that one can use to escape the chaos that plagues life as long as you let it take a hold. But slipping into a world of peace and attempting to let it become one’s reality can provide a chance to improve one’s life greatly. Of course, use of one’s own little world must be used as a rest more than a permanent escape (stagnancy is not a healthy way to escape the chaos), but there’s still something quite invigorating about finding an escape from the chaos (my personal escape is music and writing, which is somewhat why I created this blog in the first place).

 

Celldweller – Unlikely (Stay With Me) (7): Huh. The title of this song seems oddly familiar. As does the guitar riff at the beginning, though I think that those two familiarities are for entirely different reasons. Well, within context of this album review the title situation is quite obvious. About half the album ago, there was another song titled Stay with Me (Unlikely). So, don’t get them confused. Stay with Me (Unlikely and Unlikely (Stay With Me) are two entirely different songs

 

As for the guitar riff at the beginning of the song, I can’t help but feel like the familiarity has to do with the similarities between this riff and the one at the beginning of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit. Am I going crazy? I had this same issue with Ashbury Heights’ Penance and Megalovania a while back, though at least this similarity makes sense as the famous song in question (Smells Like Teen Spirit) was released over a decade before the song in my review (Unlikely (Stay with Me)). Still, it feels weird to notice this connection.

 

Anyway, onto reviewing the actual song, the title does indicate that this song is somewhat of a twisted reprise of Stay with Me (Unlikely). I can see somewhat of a resemblance. There are some similar themes with the paradox of desiring company and also desiring time alone. And I believe this version rips its lyrics directly from the chorus of the former. The only thing is it omits a good chunk of those lyrics and twists what’s left around before resinging them. So while this song is certainly connected to Stay with Me (Unlikely), it feels like a completely different song.

 

But this different song is certainly a good one, complete with a good simple, apparently Nirvana-esque guitar riff (both of a rock and acoustic variety), a few vocal chops here and there, and a decent section near the end involving some heavier guitar riffs and a simple electronic synth melody, painting a simple picture of the line between rock and electronic that Celldweller strides upon.

 

No lyrical analysis here, just go back to Stay With Me (Unlikely) as I’d just repeat myself if I took a shot here.

 

 

Celldweller – One Good Reason (1.5): Alright, it looks like it’s time for some extreme rock with some screaming vocals. Nothing clean and clear here. How do I feel about that? Well, if I’m being perfectly honest, I’m not a fan and it does hurt this song a slight bit more than it would if the song was a bit cleaner. Don’t get me wrong, the high tempo and the overall incredibly intense tone does have its upsides. It’s just a little bit too much here.

 

And the lyrics? Well, this is the edgiest most suicidal song on the album, and I am not at all a fan of that theme. Gets straight to the point. The singer can’t think of one good reason to continue living. I’m really not sure what else to say about the song itself. It’s a toxic mindset and it refuses to budge from that. I think I’ve made my stance against suicide clear in previous reviews (several times in Three Cheers for the Newlydeads. There’s always potential in the future, regardless of the lot one’s given in the present. That’s my reason. And I believe it’s a rather good one.

 

Celldweller – The Stars of Orion (7): The Stars of Orion is… a different song. Not saying it’s bad. I actually quite enjoy it, but it really doesn’t fit at all within this album, perhaps even within Celldweller’s entire discography. Now, I feel the main factor that separates this from most of Celldweller’s works is how instrumental it is. I’m of course not counting all of the Instrumentals Celldweller places on his Deluxe albums. Those are an entirely different story and even this song has an instrumental version later on, as there are some minimal lyrics but they blend in a bit with the creepy atmosphere this song provides.

 

Lyrics aside, this song is entirely about the atmosphere it creates anyway. Two unique lines of lyrics aren’t going to change anything. Here let me quickly wrap them up: this song is about going far away… that’s it. Congratulations. You now understand what this son is about. You might not know of the ambient environment this song creates as the vocals set in. You might not know of the edgy DnB drumbeat that overtakes the song soon after it starts. You might not know of the guitar riff that continuously brings the drums in and out of focus. You might not know of the song’s conclusion resembling atmospheric bookend to match the song’s introduction

 

But at least you know that this song is about going far away do there’s that.

 

Celldweller – Cell #3 (6.5): The Cell door opens.

 

Our Celldweller awakens from torturous slumber

 

Forever wounded, voice distorted to a state of inhuman lack of emotion

 

The end is near.

 

Celldweller – Welcome to the End (6.75): The end is here.

 

Welcome to The End slows down for its ending, making it the only song that’s truly calming the entire way through. Kind of strange to hear Celldweller without all of the heavy energetic guitars and basslines, but then again, that’s what the entirety of his Offworld album is like (which contains one of my favorite songs of all time, but we’ll talk about that one far into the future). This song takes on an almost entirely ambient vibe with what I believe are the sounds of whales accompanying the simple drumbeat and occasional guitar melody. It’s quite an interesting and refreshing vibe compared to the rest of the album.

 

Continuing off of the desire to “go someplace far away from here” from Stars of Orion, this song is a song of leaving. A song that continues that desire to leave the present behind and look to the future. This song ads a few more lyrics to surround that idea, albeit those lyrics are a little bit cryptic in their connection to going far from here. So, I wouldn’t say this one goes more in depth. More like it attaches a strange love story plotline in which one lover welcomes the other home before they embark on a journey, leaving their home behind. Their destination is unclear, though it sounds like the destination isn’t the purpose.

 

The purpose is to escape.

 

Because there is a voice. A small whisper. But even the smallest whisper can hold all the destruction required to break a man.

 

“Welcome to the End”

 

Conclusion: Or that would be the end, if the deluxe album didn’t have 18 more songs and a couple dozen instrumentals to go through. But I think this is a good place to stop for now. Celldweller is a divisive album for me, maybe not to the level as Three Cheers cor the Newlydeads (overdone comparison is overdone), but it does have a mixture of some fantastic songs and some songs that suffer greatly from their lyrics. But most of the album resides in the middle of that range between 5 and 7.

 

Anyways, join me next time as I tear into a few bonus songs added into the deluxe version of the album (released ten years later), as well as some remixes of the most iconic songs and a few demos of tracks that hadn’t quite made it into the public prior.

 

Final Score: (6.5/10)

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Infected Mushroom – Converting Vegetarians (2003 album) pt 2/2

Part 2 – Other Side

 

Album links

Bandcamp: n/a

Soundcloud (Other Side only): https://soundcloud.com/infectedmushroom/sets/converting-vegetarians-the

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3LbcBylGvC80f5OTeQaVuM?si=DRj2Ry1zQ1qfIxNXrcvF9A

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL718C82948CE653CE

 

Introduction: Alright! Time for the Converting Vegetarians review part 2! Not to be confused with the Converted Vegetarians part 2 review. That comes much later.

 

Anyways, we’re in for something a little different today. Last week was all psytrance so it felt a lot like one of the other Infected Mushroom albums I reviewed. The other half of the album however… the other side… It’s absolutely completely different. I guess I’ll let the music do the talking. I’d written the first half of this reviews if I’d release it all at once along with the Trance Side but that didn’t happen. So let’s just dive right in and let my words on the song, Converting Vegetarians tell you about the album, Converting Vegetarians.

 

Infected Mushroom – Converting Vegetarians (7.5): When the titular song of this album introduces itself, it ends up slightly jarring. The first ten songs all shared a common theme and together formed the “Trance Side” of the album. The “Other Side” has no theme to it. Unless you count the perpetual state of being odd in general to be a theme. Because a healthy portion of these songs are simply odd. Even if this was how the album began without over an hour of trance setting a precedent, the song is such a strange mixture of textural instruments and distorted vocals, that the majority of listeners might be initially put off by the vibes that Infected Mushroom is introducing in this album

 

I, however, love it.

 

I’m all for variety and this song definitely delivers on that front. There is such an interesting variety of carefully placed chaotic patterns to keep the song fresh and engaging throughout. Instead of catering to the psytrance side that Infected Mushroom has been known for up to this point, this song explores every corner of Infected Mushroom’s sound design, deconstructs it and reconstructs it into something new. The song takes on a slower pace with plentiful basslines, some a little too screechy (only true negative of the song in my opinion) and others that have a very deep unique groove. My favorite instruments in the song have to be the fully vocal ones though. The broken scatsinging in the background as well as the various voices used to display these lyrics (ranging from calm and slightly distorted to a cleaner voice belting out the lyrics without concern of losing his voice).

 

Those lyrics though… Oh boy do I have some lyrics to decipher. I mean, the likely goal of this song was to make a statement that the two of them aren’t limiting themselves to just the one genre any more. They shan’t sell out and give the people exactly what they want and expect, but instead explore other areas of their soundscape. It’s a song about transformation. And those that had been solely consuming their psytrance shallf be converted from their vegetarian diet (apparently psytrance contains no meat), to larger variety of genres (some of which is likely steak, I would like some steak right now, thanks).

 

However, I do find the mention that they’ve been converting these vegetarians since 1996 to be rather odd. If you remember back in my first review on this site, their first album dropped in 1999. Previous to that, they did release a song on a compilation 1998, but that’s still not back in 1996? What could have happened in 1996? I was born in 1996… Perhaps my meat looks so succulent that any vegetarian that looks at me suddenly wants to eat meat… Cook me up and take bite after bite of my flesh…

 

Oh wait. Erez and Duvdev started making music in 1996… They just weren’t Infected Mushroom at the time. Thank Wikipedia for easing my fears of sudden cannibals gazing hungrily at me (please don’t eat me).

 

Infected Mushroom – Elation Station (6.75): As we move deeper into the Other Side of the album, we’re met with many of the most relaxing tracks in the entire Infected Mushroom discography. Up until this point, most of the discography has been hard-hitting psytrance (and whatever that last song was).

 

For much of the song, Elation Station’s main focus is a simple piano melody. It’s the sole instrument at the beginning of the song and it isn’t until a good thirty seconds that any other significant instruments enter into the song. Some relaxing guitar, a calming arp, a slight bassline that’s more on the smooth side rather than funky or bouncy with a drumbeat to match. All relaxing elements.

 

And then that other synth comes in at one and quarter minutes in. I’m not as elated about this synth as the rest of the song. It feels a bit unfitting to the relaxing vibe that’s displayed in the beginning of this track as well as the end. The song would be a bit higher in rating if this synth felt a bit more polished, but it doesn’t distract too much from the relaxation, so I’ll give it a pass.

 

The middle, however, isn’t relaxing. It’s something else entirely. You may remember that the bassline this song introduces at the beginning is merely smooth. No funk. No bounce. The bassline introduced for the middle third of this song is the complete opposite of that. It’s all funk. This song is a funk sandwich with nearly relaxing bread. A funk sandwich that I would gladly assume is meat (not sure what kind of meat, funk is, but I’m going to eat it regardless). It starts out funky enough 2;20, but it only grows funkier as it goes on. Take a break to focus on some horns? It only gets funkier. Distort them a second to make them an octave lower? It only gets funkier. Get rid of the bassline entirely and return to the near relaxation the song started with? Well, the bassline doesn’t return after that, but I’m sure if it did, it would be incredibly funky.

 

Infected Mushroom – Drop Out (7): I’d say Drop Out is a strange song, but that could be said about nearly every song on the second half of this album, so I’ll try to restrain myself from saying such obvious things in the future.

 

It is quite strange though.

 

Let’s start with the overall feeling that this song has with the music. A lot of the song, especially in the beginning and the end has a lot of focus on a calmer glitched out vibe, not as calm as Elation Station, mind you, but still overall more relaxing than intense. And while the glitches with the drumbeats and strange arps and vocals do somewhat conflict with the relaxing mood, I feel that this song strays from the relaxing vibe in so many ways, that the glitched out behavior of several of the instruments (and those vocals) becomes the new overall feeling the song has. It’s not relaxing in a soothing way. It’s relaxing in a trippy mind-bending way. Regardless, this song’s relaxation works.

 

One part of the song that stands out, fitting perhaps the pure relaxation parts of this song, would be the guitar section in the middle. I don’t have much in particular to say about this, but I will make sure to mention that the guitar does a great job of providing a break between the strange vocals and other glitches, allowing one to get lost in the beauty of the simpler elements of the song. The more rock-oriented guitar near the end of the track serves a similar purpose, though I find it slightly less enjoyable and relaxing (It’s rock. rock is less relaxing than acoustic. That’s just how it works).

 

Speaking of the beauty of simple things, let’s take a quick look at the little lyrical content this song has to offer. When it comes to the lyrics, my original guess for the meaning of this song would be about dropping out of school as I have an innocent mind that views that quote of breaking free of the restrictions of thinking that the modern education system seems to enforce on the progressing generations as time goes on.

 

However, seeing as I’ve discovered this sample comes from an LSD documentary, it’s probably about dropping out of reality…

 

Via drugs.

 

Sometimes, you can’t escape the psychedelic messages songs of this genre display

 

Infected Mushroom – Avratz (7.75): Avratz passes by Dancing with Kadafi, becoming the longest song in the discography (up to this point). Beat it out by an entire second. Fantastic lead, I must say. When it comes to lengthy songs like this one, I must always ask whether or not the song uses enough variety to justify its length. In other words, does it count as a journey through sound? I’ll say yes in this case. It takes a long while for the song to pick up momentum on its journey, but the second half of the song has enough elements that make up for the slow beginning.

 

And I mean slow in two different ways. Not only does the song take a lengthy amount of time to get started, the music at this portion of the song is incredibly calm, focusing almost entirely on one simple melody that repeatedly climbs up and down. For the first two minutes, that’s all there is. Maybe a drumbeat here and there, but that variety isn’t looking quite good so far.

 

Thankfully, the conclusion of those two minute brings in a new piano melody. It’s a small change, but it’s entirely necessary to prevent me from losing my mind to the numb unchanging status quo. That being said, it does allow for some beautiful elements to be added to that melody the plays throughout much of the song, even beyond the halfway mark. It starts out quite beautiful though it does get distorted halfway through, but distortion is somewhat of a main them in this album so that’s to be expected.

 

The second half of the song is a bit more upbeat than what’s been shown so far. This upbeat switchup is where the song really kicks it up a notch. I don’t have time to go into every single element that this song throws into the mix so here’s a quick rapidfire rundown. We’ve got the more upbeat drumbeat with the introduction of a bassline that’s been missing for far too long. We’ve got some distorted vocals added in early on in this second half as well as bringing the song towards its conclusion (the latter being my preferred vocal bit). We’ve got a good progression of the bassline and the drums becoming more intense as the song goes on. We’ve got a sudden half time portion with a combination of a slightly more guttural bassline and a new relaxing guitar melody. We’ve got strings. We’ve got oddly unique arps that contrast with the rest of the song (in a good way unlike Elation Station). We’ve got a bassline that feels pleasantly broken as it builds up towards the conclusion of the song along with those vocals I mentioned earlier. And then there’s the bookend throwing back to the melody that started it all. Playing the song on loop makes it tricky to determine where exactly the song ends and starts anew.

 

All in all, this song is incredibly relaxing to the point where I almost fell asleep several times trying to review this song. Or maybe I’m just tired…

 

Infected Mushroom & Michelle Adamson – Blink (6.25): Blink is a strange song. I know I said I’d stop mentioning that, but when Michelle Adamson (spent a bit of time searching for that vocalist’s name, but I think I got it right) joins in to provide her vocals, it’s hard to say it just blends in with the usual oddity that makes up this album.

 

And I do believe that Michelle adds the most to this strange feeling this song gives my gut. After all, much of the music matches the vibe I’ve been getting used to as I listen through the Other Side. The bassline is slightly groovier, but it isn’t really groundbreaking in the same way that Elation Station’s is. The song has a solid halftime drumbeat that isn’t quite as glitchy as in Drop Out. There’s several mysterious synths that have somewhat of a relaxing feel to them, but Avratz has more. Converting Vegetarian’s vocals are much more heavily distorted.

 

But that doesn’t matter because Michelle’s vocals are more unsettling and discomforting with minimal distortion. I don’t dislike them. I just find them a bit… odd. The bridge especially sends chills up my spine. Her whispers as she talks of conquering demons and ignoring lizards feel as if they might be distorted, but it sounds so natural that I’m nearly convinced she might be some sort of otherworldly being herself.

 

As for the lyrics, it’s incredibly cryptic, but I’m not fully certain there was truly “no smoking or drinking” as they were being written. I’ve already mentioned the demon conquering and lizard whisper ignoring as I talked of the vocals. But there’s so much more in here that raises strange questions. There seems to be a song in her head leading her towards death. Then again, does that even matter because she also said she’s already dead (maybe inside?). And then there’s speak of bonding one’s mind in an intimate transcendent experience

 

Yeah, this one’s probably about drugs too. The Infected Mushrooms are not exactly subtle this time around.

 

Infected Mushrooom – Shakawkaw (7.75): Shakakaw is a short fun song with an entirely different feeling than Blink (especially in the vocals). Much of the song keeps a chill atmosphere to it, somewhat similar to the first half of Avratz with a simple melody dominating much of the song. That’s where the similarities end. Thankfully, this song develops much more quickly, adding more variety in the first minute that the calmer portion of Avratz did in its entirety (this song is over before Avratz really got going).

 

The simple melody is quite nice, but the instruments introduced to compliment are quite enjoyable. The bassline has a slight funk to it, most staying in the background, but definitely driving the song forward. There’s a couple of synths that contribute to the odd environment that’s integral to any song off of the second half of this album. Oh and the guitar.

 

The guitar definitely steals the show in its brief tenure. That seems to be typical on this album. Whenever, a guitar comes in, it’s the best part of the song for that moment adding in some beauty to the otherwise gritty oddity that is this album.

 

But the guitar isn’t the focus of the song. As awesome as it is, it’s not the most memorable part. The most memorable part would have to go to the vocals and their fantastic “lyrical content.” Ok, actually it’s just some guy yelling out the amusing title of the song, but that’s really the heart of what makes listening to this song so fun. Even when the “lyrics” stop, you can hear the singer who sun his heart out laughing as the song fades away. And rightfully so. This song is ridiculously amusing.

 

Infected Mushroom – Pletzurra (8.25): Pletzurra develops quite interestingly, especially near the end. But in order to truly appreciate the development of a song like this, I must first tell you of the trippy ambience at the beginning. There’s a pad whispering in my ear as the drumbeat begins and the piano joins in. Eventually, the oddly ominous gets covered up with all of the other instruments that make up this song in an attempt to send it back to the eternal abyss it came from. But just as the abyss is an eternal construct that we stare into throughout our life, the ominous pad is also eternal and never truly leaves the song. It’s always there.

 

Always waiting.

 

For something. Not sure what. It’s kind of just there.

 

Not exactly as ominous if nothing happens.

 

Unless something is happening and I’m just not noticing it.

 

Now, that’s ominous.

 

Maybe.

 

Ominous distractions aside, I’m glad that many instruments come in to cover up the ominous bits. Not because I hate that pad. I find it quite interesting. No, it’s because everything that this song adds to the mix from this point onwards is quite a pleasure. Or should I say Pleasuretzura? (I’ve decided I shouldn’t have said that. Forgive me for not leaving this pun alone). The piano in this song is one of the first things to start covering up that pad, providing the most beautiful melody on the entire album. With the help of a slight bassline, they cover up the ominousness almost completely. At least enough so that it’s no longer infecting my brain.

 

From there, the song takes a step back in quality, briefly being played through a lower filter, almost as if we were listening to a recording of the song being played on the radio. You can even here the tape spinning as the vocals begin to introduce themselves. The vocals sound pained at first but slowly develop over time to a more confident melody. None of it has lyrics of course, it’s merely a manifestation of overcoming pain with a choir to back it up. Probably reading too deep into it with that last sentence, but that’s the roll I’m on right now. Eventually the deep singing grows to be quite beautiful, the drums and the bassline do return to an ominous vibe. Thankfully though there’s a second melody and strings to cover it up as the song brings itself to close, proving itself to be an overall relaxing piece of music…

 

PSYCH! This song has a BANJO! And it’s AWESOME!

 

Infected Mushroom – I Wish (9.25): Undeniably my favorite song on the album. I’ve been listening through this album a lot as of late, trying to learn these songs inside and out and out and every single time this one comes on, I can’t help but sing along with that chorus over and over and over again. I guess I sing along to Shakawkaw too when it comes up, but that one’s more amusing than anything else. This one actually has meaning behind its lyrics. And unlike the trippy songs featuring Michelle Adamson (yeah there’s another one I’ll get to in a bit), I find these lyrics to be both decipherable and inspiring.

 

But music first. The music is great too. This time it’s all about the bassline. Well I guess there’s some other cool things too, a good chord progression, some syncopated drums with a few variations here and there. There are some slight whispering vocals in the background for a bit. And uh… the rest is bassline. And the bassline is great. The bassline has two elements to it. There’s the swinging more heavily distorted bass spotlighted best at the beginning of the song as well as after each chorus. And then there’s the more constant arpeggiated bassline that underlies the song’s drive. Together, these two parts of the bassline keep this song moving for the three minutes it exists. Not too much variety, but that doesn’t bother me too much. It’s the vocals that stand out.

 

First off, while I’d love to get into the lyrics, I did lie a little bit when I said this song is all about bassline. Sometimes, under certain circumstances, I’d consider vocals to be an instrument of their own. And this song is definitely one of those circumstances. These vocals are the most heavily distorted on the album. The immediate stuttering as soon as the first verse starts. The way each note seems to dance up and down, constantly wavering in tone. The end of each line being held perhaps a fraction of a second longer than you’d expect half the time and completely glitching out the other half of the time. It all comes to a head with the extremely catch chorus. Not only is the music best here because of the prominent chords, but the vocals are almost clean here except for a couple of perfectly placed accents at the end of some of the lines. The way the pitch slides upwards on “game” and “rain” is absolutely fantastic. I have a fondness for when male vocals suddenly soar in pitch without any pretense.

 

As for the lyrics, this song is about fresh beginnings (funny how often that message comes up in reviews of my favorite artists, wonder if that’s why I like them or if that just means I’m extrapolating my own meaning in order to match my innermost values). I Wish compares life itself to a game, a game that we won’t stop playing until the end of our time. Now, exactly how this game has gone in the past is a bit unclear, but there is something to look at through the singer’s desires to play the game without fears and regrets as well as his desire to rewind and kick it from the start. It’s clear that his past experience with this game has been… less than stellar. But like I said, he wishes to abandon those fears and regrets and start again with a fresh game. A game in which he takes control of his life and gives it his best possible. Sure, rewinding time would be nice (I’ve desired to do so more than once), but sometimes the main focus should be to be to push through the game, letting the rain ash away the flaws that hold you back.

 

Again though, I am likely extrapolating. Much of what I’m getting out of this song is somewhat vague. I enjoy it regardless.

 

Infected Mushroom – Ballerium (6.75): It’s always difficult to review a decent song after a spectacular song. Comparatively speaking, Ballerium certainly has nothing on I wish, but I still feel it’s an alright track. Has a good groove to it at points and it does stand out as one of the more minimalistic songs on the album, especially near the beginning. It has an ok variety to it, but much like Scorpion Frog from The Trance Side, most of it just kind of happens.

 

I think my main problem with this song is just how minimalistic it is. There are several points in the song where it feels empty, no ambience, just a couple basslines and a drumbeat. And while the basslines are relatively decent and the kick and snare definitely are stronger compared to many for the songs on this album, they don’t really hold up the song on their own.

 

Thankfully, the song does get better in the second half as there’s more melodies introduced here as well as a couple guitar riffs that add some nice flavor. The best addition to the song comes towards the end for we have a build-up from nothing featuring some gorgeous vocals spotlighted as all the other instruments have faded away. The way the bassline progresses (which serves as the build-up from the build-up from nothing) is also quite interesting during its brief stay before being taken over a bouncier outro. The last bit of the song’s vocals serves as a nice journey even if the song is a little lesser overall.

 

And that’s all there is to say.

 

Infected Mushroom – Selecta (8.25): It seems that on this album, even the most upbeat songs usually start out with a calmer section to build up to the upbeat. This song, despite being upbeat, isn’t one of those songs. No, Selecta wastes no time in getting that 140 BPM tempo out there in the open. Almost sounds like it should be on the Trance Side. It shouldn’t be though. I’ll show you why at the end.

 

The beginning of the song does differ slightly from psytrance. The psytrance bassline isn’t quite as prominent as usual, though the bassline it’s replaced with is still quite fast-paced. Plus a lot of the instrumentation does have a good balance between Trance Side vibes and Other Side vibes as it incorporates a lot of the new sound design without going overboard.

 

However, while I wouldn’t describe the introduction of this song as chill, there are some moments in this song that are a bit more relaxing than most. In particular there’s the middle section of the song winding down a bit after the two-minute mark. The drumbeat doesn’t change at all and the bassline is still there, but somehow the beauty of the new pad, overwhelms all of the energy and provides a soothing relaxation without eliminating the drumbeat entirely. Yes, after about thirty seconds there is a short bit where the drum is replaced by a simple melody instead, but that “nothing” part of the build-up from nothing only lasts a short bit before the “build-up” of the build-up nothing quickly returns.

 

The conclusion of this song is where things get a little bit iffy. This song does not belong on the Trance Side. Because out of nowhere, we have a funky little tune that feels more out of place than the banjo in Pletzurra. There is a piano appearing seconds earlier that might hint towards this little tune, but it sure ain’t an amusing little ditty like this one right here. Also, no horns. No funky little melody. This ending is just different…

 

Yeah, this doesn’t belong on the Trance Side and all.

 

Sure was fun though.

 

Infected Mushroom & Michelle Adamson – Illuminaughty (7): Michelle is back for round 2. Of course, that means we’re going to get into some whispery vocals with cryptic mysterious lyrics, but that can be an interesting divergence sometimes.

 

Now, I’m really tempted to compare the music of this song to Blink, but that’s technically not fair, because despite having the same singer, Blink and Illuminaughty sound like completely different songs. Blink was much slower paced and concentrated more on a funky bassline. Illuminaughty has a much more mysterious instrumental and I must say, I enjoy this one more. A lot of it has to do with it meshing better with Michelle’s mysterious vocals, but there’s also a lot more subtlety to this song in comparison to Blink. The ambient pads and the arps mesh together well when they’re alone and the bassline and drums enter smoothly onto the scene whenever it’s their turn to shine. Blink was by no means bad, but Illuminaughty brings it up a notch.

 

As for the vocals and lyrics, there aren’t quite as many whispers as in Blink, but the song is still the same level of unsettling, again raising the odd question of whether or not she’s truly human. An odd fantastical conspiracy theory that’s likely ridiculously untrue, but she does do some good convincing that she’s fallen from some other realm into ours. However, I’ve been looking over these lyrics and I find them to be so incredibly cryptic that I have so little to analyze. There’s mention of tasting the fruit which likely refers to the Garden of Eden (though in a completely different tone than in Andy Hunter – To Life to Love). And she also continues to walk the line between life and death, committing to neither side. Other than that, I have absolutely no idea what to say.

 

Infected Mushroom – Jeenge (6.75): This song immediately starts with the guitar that often steals the show in the other songs that present the stringed instrument. This time, it doesn’t really steal the show so much. That’s because whenever it’s present, there is no show to steal. The song instead opts for minimalism again. Though this time there’s absolutely nothing interesting in much of the front half of the song except for the guitar. The bassline is ok, but it doesn’t really stand out until the midpoint of the song.

 

That’s when things get a bit funky. The bassline has a more dynamic bounce to it and allows for a bit more variation it develops over the next four minutes as it bounces against other melodies and basslines. My favorite part of the song has to be the bass pattern introduced about five and a half minutes in. Not only does it have a nice swing to it, but every four bars it has a quick unexpected variation with shorter notes. It’s a fun moment, but unfortunately the front half of the song isn’t quite as fun.

 

 

Infected – Mushroom – Elevation (7.75): Final song on this all too lengthy album. Having 23 songs to review is a bit much for me, so I’m glad that there’s a divide in the middle of the album between Trance Side and Other Side. It made this whole review so much easier to handle. This album ends with its most relaxing track, it’s all ambience, piano and strings and all of it is soothing in comparison to the trippy textured instruments that clustered the rest of Other Side. Unfortunately, such a relaxing track doesn’t leave me with much to say. Maybe I’m having review fatigue…

 

The most important thing I can think of to say is that all of the elements in this song really have a beautiful feel to them and some of them mesh so nicely with the rest of the song, that I didn’t even notice them a first, though they do have an important supporting role in the song. The bassline especially fits this description as it’s always covered up by the higher ambience and strings whenever it’s present. The drums have a bit of a complex vibe too, made up of many of the same distorted synths we’ve seen on other songs, but they’ve been chilled down several notches, so they feel not that unlike a simple drumbeat. Though once I did notice them, I did enjoy the meaty flavor that they added to the song. The ambience also transforms into a stronger synth at some points, but it all feels so natural and relaxing that it fits along the more physical instruments without feeling out of place in the slightest.

 

A beautiful conclusion as we finally bring this alum to a close. Speaking of conclusions…

 

Conclusion: And so, concludes the two-week journey that has been Converting Vegetarians, a fascinatingly interesting album that serves as a transition into the expanding variety in Infected Mushroom’s discography. There’s plenty to offer in this album, but I think the Other Side suits me best. Then again, I might just be saying that because I Wish is on there. I love I Wish.

 

Well, regardless, the variety here shall lead into many fantastical developments in the journey through sound that is Infected Mushroom’s entire discography. We may be exiting the first phase of said discography, but there’s still plenty to catch up on…

 

 

 

Final Score of Trance Side: (7.25)

Final Score of Other Side: (7.5)

Final Score of Full Album: (7.25)

 

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Infected Mushroom – Converting Vegetarians (2003 album) pt 1/2

Part 1 – Trance Side

 

Album links

Bandcamp: n/a

Soundcloud (Trance Side only): https://soundcloud.com/infectedmushroom/sets/converting-vegetarians-trance

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3LbcBylGvC80f5OTeQaVuM?si=DRj2Ry1zQ1qfIxNXrcvF9A

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL718C82948CE653CE

 

Introduction: Ah yes, if I were a vegetarian, then the first thing that would entice me to join the meat-eating side would surely be a human brain skewered on a fish hook. All that knowledge ripe for consuming. Absolutely delicious. Sign me up!

 

Please ignore my odd tastes in… taste as I delve into my much more relevant slightly odd taste in music. Specifically, my taste in Infected Mushroom. The last three albums I’ve reviewed from them have been purely psytrance. This album changes that. Oh yes, the first half, referred to as Trance Side is definitely psytrance and alone would seem much alike the previous three albums (except ten songs instead of nine. How adventurous!)

 

The second half, however, is referred to as Other Side. I’d talk about it here, but I actually haven’t finished reviewing the Other Side yet and so I’m going to be posting this review as a two-parter. I’ll introduce the Other Side next week. This review is going to be long enough as it is.

 

Infected Mushroom – Albibeno (6.5): Alright, let’s dive right in to the first song of the trance side. We’re starting out with a quintessential psytrance song. It has the perfect 145 BPM tempo. It’s got that quick paced bassline that almost feels like a slow arp. All of the synths involve have an unusual trippy vibe to them. What more is there to ask for?

 

Well, when it comes to Infected Mushroom, there’s always a little extra icing on the cake. This track’s layer of icing is a bit thin, but it still has some unique elements that cause it to be held above any ordinary psytrance song. The most substantial of these is definitely the synth at the beginning that almost sounds like a technological arp. Usually when I say technological I end up saying “Oh gee this could be in a Mind.in.a.box song! That’s my favorite artist!” but eh this one is a bit different. And yet, I enjoy it on a near equal level. It has a good haunting vibe to it as it introduces the mysteries this album has to offer. The second appearance of this synth is my favorite moment of the song, specifically because of its incorporation of the bass rumbling in the background, which allows for some suspense to take over for a short while.

 

Other than that, I don’t really have much to say, there’s some other melodies in here that are decent, but they don’t really diverge increasingly much from Infected Mushroom’s established style (though there is the occasional melody that seems a little bit closer to the newer style). This song could definitely have used a bit more variety and I’d have given it a bit of a higher rating if it did, but I find that it still stands out well enough above your typical psytrance song.

 

Infected Mushroom – Hush Mail (6.25): I have no idea what that animal at the beginning of this song is doing but I’m afraid to ask. Whatever kind of diseased creature is making that noise, I’d like it to hush. It’s disturbing me deeply.

 

This animal does remain present throughout the song, but thankfully, the creature spends a significant amount of time buried in all of the other much more enjoyable elements of the song (plus it wasn’t all that bad to begin with, just a little odd). Such coverup elements include some quite industrial drums, your psytrance bassline (plus variations) and another more animalistic distorted instrument that doesn’t disturb quite me as deeply. Altogether, these instruments provide an enjoyable experience along with a few melodies that aren’t special enough to note. In fact, the non-noteworthiness of every thing in this song means that I shall be spending as little time reviewing this part as possible.

 

The animal gives one final growl at the end. Whatever, its issue or activity was, it seems to be over. As is this song.

 

Infected Mushrom – Apogiffa Night (6.75): Apogiffa Night sees itself as such a special song that it starts with its own cinematic introduction to announce its arrival. This just means it puts its best moment at the start of the song. Well, I guess that best moment does return a bit later and it’s nearly equally as good there (nearly because I feel it just works better as an introduction rather than simply being inserted in the middle of the song).

 

Is it special though? Well, compared to that cinematic intro, not excessively much. The intro does definitely improve my overall opinion on the song, but the rest of my experience is admittedly underwhelming. This is the problem when a song puts its best foot forward, but then lets a bunch of slightly above average feet walk on the rest of the song. There are some good moments here and there like the fantastic textural bassline that dominates the song for about half a minute around 5 minutes into the song. But that’s about all that strays from the general path. Most of the song simply trudges forward with decent unrisky psytrance. That’s fine. The duo will make plenty of risks later, and they shall surely pay off.

 

Infected Mushroom – Song Pong (7.75): Song Pong is the song that should be proud enough to warrant some hyped up in an intro, as this is the one that really starts this song on a trend of 7s and greater (with only one song interrupting this pattern near the end). But instead of pumping the song full of energy with a cinematic intro, Song Pong opts for a calmer more soothing vibe in its introduction. There are slight signs of the energy that’s to come, but the main focus of this introduction is the automated pad that fluctuates in pitch as the song progresses. But the most important part is the arp that appears midway through this introduction. This arp is a core element in the essence of Song Pong.

 

There’s a reason this song starts off so soft and smooth. And it’s because, as in actual pong, this song has a tendency to bounce back and forth. Specifically, it bounces back and forth between two moods. The first is calm and soothing providing a chance for the heart rate to relax a little, but this contrasts with the other mood of the song, which is a bit more energetic and upbeat. This beautiful arp serves as the first transition between the two vibes. From there on out, the song does focus mostly on the upbeat vibes of the song, but it does take several short breaks for its 8 minutes of existence, often focusing on introducing new instruments and melodies to the table. Most of them are admittedly not as calm as the introduction, but they still allow for much more variety than the previous songs.

 

Seeing as the upbeat sections take up the brunt of the song and are more or less self-explanatory, I’m going to take a specific look at the calmer portions and how they develop the song. What better way to go over the most significant instruments? The first return to calmness happens at 2:15 and gives a slight nod to where the song started while giving a chance for a new melody to see the spotlight. It had technically already been introduced not long before this calm, but it’s barely noticeable and only becomes significant after the calm that highlights it.

 

Our second break comes in at about 3:45 which introduces a brand-new melody. Yeah, it still has the same texture as the melody that was introduced last time, but the variation is significant enough to highlight. I think I do prefer the first one as the one feels as if it has too much space in between the short notes and it doesn’t quite flow as well with the rest of the track.

 

Heralded in by my favorite arp is the break that at about 5:50 that cuts out many of the melodies briefly, leaving just the kicks and bassline. Of course, the true focus here is the melody that’s introduced shortly after. While the second melody was a downgrade from the first, this one easily is the best in the song. It’s a nice happy medium between the first two melodies (Goldilocks would have said the first was too fast and the second was too slow).

 

And as many of the songs of the first half of this album, this one does a quick bookend with exclusive focus on the pad with the fluctuating pitch, bringing this song to a close.

 

Infected – Mushroom – Chaplin (7.25): Chaplin’s main strength is shown right at the forefront. And this time around, that’s okay. Unlike Apogiffa Night from earlier in the album and Sailing on The Sea of Mushrooms from way back off the Classical Mushroom album, this strong creepy melody is here to stay. Well, it’s not eternally present, but it does return at a couple of instances in the song and that’s plenty more than the other two songs I mentioned. There’s something about this melody that makes the blood in my veins chill ever so slightly each time it reintroduces itself. And yet, I also feel as if the melody is somewhat soothing. It’s as if the melody is putting me into restful mood but I don’t trust it because it’s planning on killing me in my subdued state. I know that’s not actually going to happen, but there’s an instinctual part of me that still fears this melody for no apparent reason.

 

Other than that, this is a good psytrance song that plays a little bit into Infected Mushroom’s more modern distorted vocal style of sound design, while still keeping to the old school psytrance roots that had dominated their discography in the five years preceding this album. Because of that, this song has a fresh groove that is very welcome to the Infected Mushroom discography. However, because my first impressions of Infected Mushroom happened in 2014 with Friends on Mushrooms Vol 3, I have this urge to compare these distorted vocals to the ones of Rise Up and Kipod, the songs that drew me into this discography in the first place. It’s an unfair comparison and I’ll do my best to say that these are pretty solid for their time considering what I’ve looked at so far in these reviews. It’s just that the sound design gets much better over the next decade and beyond. Actually, to be perfectly honest, their sound design undergoes a huge transformation 40 minutes from now, so maybe we should use that as a benchmark.

 

Infected – Mushroom – Echonomix (8.25): Echonomix is a great mix of sounds that have an echo to them. It’s also the study of money and how we use it and all sorts of things (I never studied economics so don’t blame me if I screwed that up).

 

While the latter of those descriptions of the song is a bit irrelevant and not actually very true, the part about this song being a mix of echoing sounds is incredibly true. Every single instrument and melody here has an odd tone to it, much of it due to echoes and phasers. Now, that isn’t entirely unusual for Infected Mushroom, but I feel like it sticks out more distinctly here than many of the other songs in their discography. Let’s do a quick look at each of the echoey instruments that overwhelm this song (which is most of them).

 

The very first moments of this song contain a harmony that has undergone multiple phasers as the echoes of subtle melody scatter in the background. As the song progresses this harmony undergoes multiple transformations, but the echoes are always there. It would be wrong if they weren’t. There’s also a melody introduced in a short break in the song at 1:45. It ends up becoming the highlighted melody for the rest of the song. A plethora of other echoing melodies are introduced at the midpoint of the song, though most of them are just subtle little accents for the song. Really, a lot of them are just notes that happen to have an echo attached to them (they only seem like a melody).

 

There are a few other melodies and arps and drumbeats that don’t echo, but they don’t echo so I’m going to ignore them. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a subtle echo on them that I’m just not noticing. If so, nice job. I wish it was a bit more noticeable.

 

Infected Mushroom – Scorpion Frog (7.25): I’m not entirely sure what a Scorpion Frog is, but it sounds quite deadly. A slimy creature with a scorpion’s tail that can quickly hop towards me? No thanks.

 

Anyways, I painstakingly scoured through the last three albums to see what song these introductory strings are referencing. I could’ve sworn that one of the songs in the last few albums had a nearly identical melody and I thought it would be neat to show off such a little Easter egg. Instead I merely showed myself I was absolutely crazy and delusional. Bust a Move and Dracul have string melodies that sound mildly similar but it’s a strenuous connection at best. Ah well, regardless of where the melody does or doesn’t come from, it sure does have a very similar feeling to the strings that have been displayed throughout Infected Mushroom’s discography so far. Hopefully that was the intention.

 

The rest of this song is one of those journeys through sound. The mood changes from moment to moment and the variety keeps the mind interested and engaged. This is admittedly one of the lesser journeys through sound as the variety, while present, isn’t quite as dynamic as others. Plus, I hate to say this, but very few of these ideas are very interesting on their own. I never feel surprised whenever the song transitions to a new stage. I just think to myself “Oh that’s different than what we’ve been doing, ok.”

 

I’ll divide this song into 5 stages so I can quickly go over each change the song has.

  • Stage 1 is the strings. I already talked about the strings, they end at 1:25. They are strings and they’re great and remind me of older Infected Mushroom. Good vibes here.
  • After that we have stage 2, the glitched out bassline. This one’s ok. It goes through a couple of iterations and does have a decent bouncy groove to it, but it never really grabs my attention.
  • At about 3:20, we enter stage 3: the best stage. This one focuses on a calm, yet slightly off-putting vibe as the bassline rebuilds itself from the ground up. This melody is probably the second-best part of the song after the strings. It’s somewhat similar to the main melody in Chaplin, though it doesn’t quite reach the same heights of unsettling.
  • Stage 4 is the oddest of the bunch starting at 4:30. The psytrance bassline that has been building is traded for a phasing bass similar to the one at the beginning of Echnomix, but it’s not quite as good. There’s also a subtle melody that seems to be using some retro (or should I say R.E.T.R.O.) sound effects which rounds up this section nicely
  • Stage 5 takes up the last 2 minutes of the song, taking the phased bass from stage 4 and overlaying it with a bouncy bassline to provide a final build-up for the song (which works quite well might I add). Eventually, the strings from the beginning take over, wrapping up this song nicely.

 

Overall, this song is good, but it pales in comparison to what it could be.

 

Infected Mushroom – Deeply Disturbed (8.25): Deeply Disturbed is the only lyrical song on the trance side of this album. It is likely because of the lyrics that I remember it most clearly over the other nine (though I might have Scorpion Frog embedded in the depths of my memories somewhere what with that throwback mixup). The lyrics of Deeply Disturbed are… disturbing. If you’re looking for an uplifting feel-good song, then this isn’t really the place to look. In fact, you should probably tread all of my reviews with caution if positivity is what you want. I have a tendency to enjoy songs with darker themes (up to a point). Themes that might deeply disturb some. Themes that might make some deeply unhappy.

 

Actually, as dark and bleak as these lyrics are, they’re so out of context and so vague that I find it rather amusing more than anything. That’s probably not the right reaction to have and it probably reflects negatively on my sense of humor and internal psyche. But that’s it. That’s the entire song. He’d deeply disturbed and he’s deeply unhappy. What’s disturbing him? What’s sapping away his happiness? Is this man simply insane? We shall never know. But hey at least we get a good song in the meantime.

 

My memory of this song is also likely heightened by the overall music quality of this song. It’s certainly not the most complex song on the front half of the album, but sometimes it’s the simple things that prove to be the most enjoyable. My enjoyment of this song comes almost entirely from the guitar. Every single moment it’s there (which is basically any time the singer isn’t expressing his deep disturbance and unhappiness), it steals the show completely. Whether it be the ascending plucks played in the introduction of the song or the more melodic sections played shortly before each chorus, the guitar is truly the most enjoyable part of the song.

 

Of course, that doesn’t mean the guitar is the only good part of the song. The song simply wouldn’t be the same if the ambience didn’t give off that peaceful sense of dread at the beginning of the song. It wouldn’t be the same if the bassline didn’t have such a rolling groove to it. It wouldn’t be the same if said bassline didn’t become harsher in the chorus, while smoother elsewhere. There might not be a huge variety of instruments to work with in this song, but what’s there blends perfectly.

 

Infected Mushroom – Semi Nice (6.5): Semi Nice is the most playful song on the Trance Side of the album. It starts with an accordion of all things, which I find to be quite odd. It’s just not something I hear very often as my tastes usually don’t include the type of music an accordion would be involved in. But there is at least one exception. It’s this. This is the exception.

 

The song does stick nicely to that introductory playful mood to it. The sound design focuses mostly on the textured basslines. The typical psytrance bassline is there of course, but that’s not the one I care to talk about today. It’s there, being a consistent good as always. The bassline that stands out is the other bassline. For the first half of the song, it just gives a few notes here and there. Not too much in particular. But that playful vibe is definitely present when we reach the midpoint and the bass (now played at a bit of a higher pitch) starts to swing between notes. This funky middle section is probably the closest the song gets to matching the fun accordion intro. Shame that accordion wasn’t reintroduced

 

Instead, the last third song concentrates more on the less interesting elements of the song. There’s a new bassline playing exclusively lower notes with no experimentation whatsoever. And there’s a new simple melody with a few minor distortions, but that’s really just minimal experimentation if anything. Nothing wrong with this last third. Just nothing right with it either

 

Overall, this is a decent song. I’m still kind of in the middle when it comes to my opinion on it. The accordion definitely makes it stand out and I do think it would have been better off continuing to explorre the playful tone that the accordion introduced. Maybe reincorporating the accordion for later. It’s still a nice song, just not quite up to par for Infected Mushroom.

 

It’s Semi-nice.

 

Infected Mushroom – Yanko Pitch (7.75): Concluding the Trance Side, we have Yanko Pitch. With the exception of maybe Deeply Disturbed (which cheated by using the mantra of a madman for vocals), this is likely the creepiest trance song of the bunch. That also makes it one of the best trance songs of the bunch. When it comes to Infected Mushroom’s more psytrance side of their discography (I haven’t gone over anything non-psytrance yet, but I’ll definitely be doing so next week), the creepier songs are often the better ones. Probably because of all the emotions to be expressed through psytrance, fear is the easiest to convey. And a song that gives off a greater emotional reaction is a song that’s well-enjoyed (unless the reaction is utter disgust, then maybe don’t enjoy that one).

 

This song starts off right with the oddest creepiest ambience on the entire album. Deeply Disturbed had a great intro with the guitar that serves as one of the song’s core aspects, but this intro is incredibly trippy. The first twenty seconds are made completely of distorted synths that sound like the remaining echoes from a previous non-existent synth located in the negative area of this song’s duration. But now it sounds like something ominous is coming.

 

The rest of the song doesn’t quite match up with the creepy vibes the song starts with, but that’s mostly because the bar was set a little too high at that beginning. The rest of the song isn’t bad or disappointing. It’s just hard to live up to the expectations that intro sets. Not going to hold it against the song though because the song still maintains a relatively dark atmosphere and it does have some good unsettling melodies here and there. There’s a melody three quarters in that really stands out in the song, giving it some fresh upbeat variety as the general creepiness begins to go stale on its own.

 

That being said, it is admittedly a more simplistic song than the nine other trance songs on this album. The next thirteen songs, however, are a bit different…

 

Conclusion: We’re only halfway through this album due to its length, but it’s clear that the trend of Infected Mushroom’s quality continues to improve. Not all of the songs are winners, but they’re all consistently above 6, which is more than I can say for the past few albums. Plus, you get an extra song instead of the usual nine, so that’s a neat bonus. Of course, if I’d reviewed the full album, there’d be 13 more songs added into the mix and absolutely none of them would be trance, which I think would be an even better bonus. I’ll finish that up next week…

 

Final Score of Trance Side: (7.25)

Final Score of Other Side: (TBD)

Final Score of Full Album: (TBD)